1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, and more particularly to a printing apparatus which is suitable for printing, onto the surface of a recording medium, the contents of recording information on the recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order that a user of a recording medium, such as a picture card or another memory card, or a compact disk or other disk medium, can distinguish the contents of the recording information of the recording medium, from the exterior of the recording medium, the user himself or herself has manually written text, a symbol, a drawing, or the like, into an entry space provided on the surface of the recording medium, or has attached a sticker-type index label edited on a personal computer and printed by a printer.
Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-74666 discloses technology in which a video and audio data stream recorded on a disk is reproduced, the image information of one portion of the video information is stored internally, a device for inputting text information is also provided, and the internally stored video image and input text information are printed.
However, in recent years, recording media have progressively become more compact in size and the entry space provided on the surface thereof has become smaller and smaller. Therefore, it is extremely bothersome for a user manually to enter text, a symbol, a drawing, or the like, in an entry space of this kind, or to attach a sticker-type index label. Furthermore, it is difficult to distinguish the recording information on the recording medium from external, and a user must read out the recording information by means of a reading apparatus in order to confirm the contents of the information, and then enter text, a symbol, a picture, or the like, from which the contents can be identified, in the entry space on the recording medium. This process involves a great deal of trouble and effort.
Furthermore, in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-74666, actual image information which is a portion of the video information recorded on the disk, is simply printed onto the print surface of a disk. Therefore, it is difficult to distinguish the contents of the recording information. Moreover, in recent years, the recording capacity of recording media has increased dramatically, and recording media have come to hold an extremely large amount of recording information. Therefore, it is difficult for a user to distinguish all of the contents of the recording information in a recording medium, and it is difficult to judge what information should be entered as identifiable information on the surface of the recording medium.